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yellowperch

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Posts posted by yellowperch

  1. flu-like symptoms (no fever) and WWS week 15's rather challenging topos still not done. Would you:

     

    A) let him off the hook until 1/3/12

    B) Give it another go tomorrow--when two school-gooing siblings will be home for the first day of their vacation. The homeschoolers will be having their math lesson and the piano lesson for 3 will be early in the day instead of after dinner.

    C) stay on it until it is done today.

     

    Just thought I'd see here since I am tempted to throw in the towel, but I also realize starting the first day of back-to-school on 1/3 with that beast of a tops will be tough.

  2. Ann of Green Gables

    Nesbit--or any of those thick Edwardian novels

    The Moffats

    Ginger Pie

    the Warrior series (24 books and counting, plus several books that tell side stories)

    Caddie Woodlawn

    Mandy

    anything by Burnett

    CS Lewis

    The Poppy and Rye series by Avi

    Williams Steig novels such as Abel's Island and Dominic

    The Search for Delicious

  3. That was a tough one on this end too. You revisit this on week 13 day 4, when the kids take a more personal approach to the description. This writing was much more successful on an number of levels. My DS' writing was much better. It was more engaged and even a little inspired. I would love to have him go back and do 12.4 again, or at least do a serious revision. I think that would be the best thing for him to do, but I'm going to wait a bit.

  4. I agree with lewelma that music of the hemisphere is not to be missed, and that building language is not the be all and end all.

     

    Here's what I wish I did (I'm juggling Island and Town, which is crazy): Grammar Island and Practice Island for both (DS9 and I did not finish Grammar Town before we started sentence analysis in Practice Town. He has Grammar Island under his belt--from listening and chatting while DD and I worked on Grammar Island but is doing the sentences for the town level. We'll go back to Grammar Town when he hits a roadblock with his daily sentences.) MoTH for both and Caesar's English for DS, with DD doing her daily vocabulary word from another program and listening in to CE.

     

    FWIW, the writing portion of the program scares me. We haven't touched either level. We are using a few other things for writing.

  5. I thought some of you might be interested in this recent find:

     

    A decade or so ago the NYTimes published 7 books in a "best of science writing" series. The pieces included were originally published in the paper's Tuesday science section. I recently came across one at the library and was thrilled to find them for sale used on Amazon for about the price of shipping.

     

    Here's one to get anyone who is interested started. Some of the science will be a bit old, but most is great reading.

     

     

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Science-Times-Book-Brain/dp/1558216537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323895349&sr=8-1

  6. by Geraldine Brooks.

     

    I just read it. I think it was the best book I've read this year. It was so great I want to recommend to it to as many people as I can. It's a beautiful, utterly believable story about a young girl growing up on Martha's Vineyard in the 1660s. The language is extraordinary as are the characters.

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Calebs-Crossing-Novel-Geraldine-Brooks/dp/0670021040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323634715&sr=8-1

     

    What I wouldn't give to be able to conjure a world so vividly........

  7. Would anyone care to take a look at my 6th graders social studies report? Here's some background:

     

    DS is currently in a school that he loves, and for a variety of reasons we have decided to let him stay there. DS has struggles with writing. As a condition of remaining at the school (which I found not rigorous enough), he worked with a writing coach last spring and summer. We saw considerable improvement.

     

    This assignment he worked on for two weeks. The class is studying the U.S. Constitution. One of the possible assignments the kids could chose was a comparison piece. My son chose to write about the Russian constitution. He's gone through edits with his teacher on this. This is the (almost--he's asked me to look it over) final draft, which he will submit on Monday.

     

    I'm looking for any feedback here, from pats on the head saying everything will okay to general thoughts to pull-the-guts-out edits.

     

    Thank you!

     

     

     

    Russia--what do you think of when you hear that word? Spies? Evil? Powerful? How about federation? The Russian Federation, thats what this report is all about. They also have an executive, legislative, and judicial branch.

     

    Russia’s executive branch is by far the most powerful branch because the only job the legislative branch has is to look at all the bills and rule out the most unreasonable ones. The rest of the bills get past on to the executive branch which can eather veto it and its gone forever or they can pass it. Just like that. The presedent is also insanely powerful. The presedent can serve for two, four year terms for 8 years then wait 4 years then run again.

     

    The main courts of Russia’s judicial branch are the Constitutional Court, which take cases between the legeslative and executive branches and between the capital and smaller local government. It has 19 members. Also, there is an arbitage and millitary court.

     

    The arbirage courts take commercial disputes, usually between different companies about things like building rights, trademarked names and unfair prices. The millitary courts look at cases that have to do with the millitary. Finally there is the court of General Juristtiction wich rule out simple criminal cases.

     

    Russia is a country that has, in my opinion, many flaws. I think the Legeslative and Executive branches should be equal in power. Maby the future holds a better government for russia.

  8. Yes, I worry. Once no one really did show up--the threatening snowstorm that I had been in denial about all that day was really kicking in right when the party was supposed to start--but my house was sparkly, my children had been denied naps and/or run hard so they would be ready for bed early, and I had great music playing, candles lit and some really good food to nosh on. DH was home. It was kind of fun, actually.

     

    Hope you have a great party. I'd love to go to a party tonight!

  9. Our relatives are religious, so we refer these issues to them. For example, my mother is a devout practicing Catholic. So, we say, "well, grammy believes x, y, z. You should ask her about it." Or, "Uncle Jim would take you to mass, let's call him and see when he can do it. You can check it out." We are agnostics, and I certainly wouldn't discourage my children from seeking answers to spiritual questions. I'm clear about my beliefs--which are really just questions--and encourage them to explore their own.

  10. Our children don't play with store- bought toy guns. They do make their own from time to time. Those I don't fret too much about--easy come easy go and anyway they don't look real.

     

    My husband grew up hunting. He hasn't for a few years, but the next time he has a chance to go he will likely take the older children. i think that's fine. It's the toy part that bothers me. Guns as tools are not problematic.

     

    Would any like-minded hivers care to comment on the thread I started today? Like nerf guns, laser tag seems like so much fun....

     

     

    http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=327719

  11. I think they would have fun tagging each other with a laser, as opposed to simply playing tag, which is fun but it doesn't solve my gift-buying dilemma.

     

    Toy guns aren't something my kids play with. So I'm wondering if there is a laser tag game product that isn't shaped like a bazooka. DH has spent the last decade in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq and I don't think it would be too Christmas-y for him to see the children hunting each other with replicas of weapons. And he certainly wouldn't want to join in.

     

    Anyone? I guess this one is a lost cause....

  12. My children have loved playing laser tag with friends. I am at a loss about what fun toy to get my 11 yo for Christmas (I have sorts gear/books/clothes ideas), so I am tempted to give the two older boys some sort of good-quality laser tag game, something that will last and that lots of people can play with at once.

     

    My problem is this: I want it to be TAG not a war and gun game. Is there such a thing? The gun itself is the problem for me, but I'm all for a good game of chase......

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